Articulated bus



March 12, 1940. v. F. ANTOINE ARTICULA'I'ED BUS Filed Nov. 1, 1938 a SheetsSheet 1 7/67'71072 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS March 12, 1940. v, ANTOINE 2,193,155

ARTICULATED BUS Filed Nov. 1, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wernon fflntoj/ne INVENTOR ATTORN EY S March 12, .1940. v, o E 2,193,155

ARTICULATED BUS Filed Nov. 1, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 5 b I I (b s; w

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i 6 x: Q h? yernonfi'flntoj/ne INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Thisinventionrelatesarticulated buses and has for anobject toprovide, a bus of the semi- Patented, Mar. .12, 1940 f Applicationltloveniber 1, 1923,? Serial NoIZQQZBS 1 Ch Ind (Cl; 5

trailer type adapted to carrymorepaesengers, promote greater comfort, and costs per passenger e A. further object; to; provide an articulated bus having a ball and socket joint between the front section and the. rear section of such construction as to permit an unobstructed dust and. i

rear pairs of ,ground wheels I3 and I4 respectively, the intermediate pair of ground wheels it water tight passageway between both sections.

A further object is to provide an articulated bus which will be'strong and durable, which can be manufacturedat a slightly greater cost than a single bus of one-half the passenger carrying capacity, and which will not easily get out. of 1 order. H

With the above and other objects inview the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may beresorted to within the scope of the appended claim without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of."

the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification: l Figure 1 is a sideelevation of an articulated bus constructed in accordance with the invention andkwith the rear section shown in dotted lines as swung on the horizontal pivot of the,

joint. v

Figure 2 is a plan view of the bus shown in Figure 1 and showing the rear section dotted in two positions of its swinging movement on the Figure 4 is a detail longitudinal sectional view.

taken on the line 44 of Figure 2 andshowing the passageway and step between the front section and the rear section.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3 and showing the rear section in front elevation. v

Figure v6 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the ball and socket jointandpassageway between the sections, 1

Figure '7 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 1'i of' Figure 1 showing the ball and socket joint and passageway.

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of the pivot yoke.

Figure 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view reduce operating and being driven from sfin'jon he 11116; I94 of- (ri -urea sh win e rubber mounting of a pivot pin.

Referring now to the drawings i-in which like I haracter -tor refl 'r n et c sna simi ar pa ts I int-E evati ns i ws. .HLdes' at t cro tionand tharea i tie o l bus. t r ar section being somewhat in the nature of a trailer supported by a single pair of ground wheels l2 while the front section is supported by front and sectionxis' rounded at its juncture with the side Walls to provide therball of the ball and socket joint. The front wall, furthermore is substantially conical as shown at I! from the rounded of a passageway l8 between the sections.

The passageway I8 is formed integral with the rear wall l5 of'thefront section and" is of the general shape shown best in Figure 5. The passagewayis of sufiicient height to permit pas- 'sengers having full head room. The floor I9 of the passageway is spaced slightly from a "riser 21 of the rear section. Thus a step is provided between the front section and the rear section with sufficient clearance between the riser and the floor of the front section to permit rocking of the rear section on horizontal pivots when the bus is traveling over hillyterrain.

The front section is pivotally connected to'the rear section by a yoke 22, best shown in Figure 8,

thegeneral contour of the passageway, asbest shown in Figure 5, and disposed between the end of the passageway and the front wall H ofthe rear section, as best shown inFigures '7 and 9/ The yoke is provided at the top and at the bottom with, aligned pivot pins 23 and is provided at 'the centersof the sides with aligned socket members 24. The pivot pins 23 are received socket members 25 formed in the roof and floor of the rear section, as best shown in Figures 4 and 5.

Pivot pins 26 are'secured to the wall l8 of the '20; best shown in Figure 4, secured to the floor section may swing laterally, as shown by dotted i lines in Figure 2 when'the vehicle is changing direction. The pivot pins 26 form a horizontal axis of rotation about which the rear section a may swing vertically on hills.

Preferably all of the'sockets are provided with rubber bushings 21, as best shown in Figure '7,

' to take up shocks and jars and at the same time reduce noise to a minimum. To render the ball and socketjoint Water and dust'proof an endless rubber seal 28, of U-shape cross section, is =se-' cured at the opposite edges thereof, to the rear openend of the passageway l8 and to the pas 1;

sageway receiving opening inthe front wall of'the rear section. The seal is sufiiciently 'fie'xi ble toyield without danger when the front and.

rear sections move relatively to each other under variousconditions of service;

From the above description it isthought that;

the construction and-operation of the invention will befully understood without further explanation. l What is claimed is: r n 3 l y In an articulated bus, 9, body comprising a front section, a rear section,said front section having a rear wall substantiallysemi-spherical tsageway, said passageway having a. floor, a riser extending from the floor of the rear section, the

floor of the passageway being spaced slightly above the riser to provide a step between the front section and the rear section, said step having sufii'cient clearance above the riser to permit rocking of the rear section on a horizontal axis when the bus is travelling over hilly terrain, and pivotalmeans disposed between the rear end of the passageway'and the front end of the rear section permitting both sections to pivot on a vertical axis and on a horizontal axis.

VERNON ANTOINE. 

